


Leitmotif

by kageygirl



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-18
Updated: 2006-01-18
Packaged: 2017-10-19 18:11:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/203809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kageygirl/pseuds/kageygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They're not nearly as scary when they're asleep, are they?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leitmotif

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime in season 2.

"Teyla," John said, patting the section of blanket beside her knee to get her attention.

"Colonel?" Teyla turned her head slowly, lest she set the room spinning again. The Konvarrans had always been known for the potency of their spirits, but it seemed that since news of the Wraith awakening had reached their world, the Konvarran distillers had begun outdoing themselves.

Significantly.

She finally looked over at John, who gave her a warm, if not entirely focused grin, and she could not resist smiling in return. Behind her, she knew, Ronon was curled around a pillow, snoring softly, and Rodney, she now saw, had likewise slumped to the blanket-strewn floor, his head propped against the colonel's leg.

"Hey." John waved his fingers in her line of sight, and she drew her gaze back to his face.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to--" John waved his hand vaguely. "I thought I should thank you. I never did, and I thought I should."

Teyla blinked at him. "For what?"

"For when we met--not just us, I mean, when my people met your people." John frowned down at the blanket. "Not that that wasn't when _we_ met, too..."

"Yes, it was." It was her turn to dip her head with care, trying to catch his eye. "And when we met...?"

"Right!" John jerked his head up, then swayed in place before regaining his balance. "I just wanted to say thank you. For not putting us through some kind of ceremonial--thing. I'm not sure it would have gone over well with Colonel Sumner." He made a loop in midair with one hand. "Well, there was the tea thing, but that just seemed more like breakfast."

"It was," she said, laughing gently. His people had shared their rations in return, and she remembered her first taste of their coffee--bitter and abrasive, as their leader had seemed. But with intriguing undertones, much like then-Major Sheppard himself.

"Anyway, I was really new to all of this," he said, describing another loop with one hand, "so I didn't know enough then to appreciate not having to do a--thing, but... thank you."

"You are welcome," she said, with a careful nod and another smile.

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, soaking in the warmth of the fireplace. The Konvarran guest lodging was as warm and welcoming as the people who'd built it, the floor by the fire heaped with pillows and blankets to relax upon, and Teyla found herself fighting not to be lulled into a drowse where she sat.

Movement caught her eye, and she realized that John was running the tips of his fingers over Rodney's hair from crown to nape in slow, cautious strokes.

Rodney murmured something and shifted in his sleep. His neck was at an awkward angle, and she suspected they would all hear about his pain at great length in the morning. Softly, she asked, "Is he going to be all right like that?"

"What?" John startled, looking down at his hand as if he'd never seen it before, then looked back up at Teyla. "Oh, yeah, he's fine." His hand resumed its motion as he looked away from it, and she wondered if he even realized he was doing it. John craned his neck to see past her--presumably checking on Ronon--and grinned again. "They're not nearly as scary when they're asleep, are they?"

She glanced behind her to see that Ronon had his face well buried in the pillow, and covered a chuckle with her hand. Looking back at John, she cocked her head and said lightly, "I was not aware that you considered Dr. McKay to be frightening."

"Dr. McKay? No, Dr. McKay is not scary." He shook his head, and the firelight gleamed briefly in his eyes. "Except when it comes to little kids, Dr. McKay isn't scary. Now, _Rodney_..." He dropped his eyes again, and Teyla watched as he deliberately traced his fingers over Rodney's temple, with infinite care. "Rodney... is scary."

His voice had sunk to a low, uneven pitch, and Teyla nodded, his solemnity coloring her own mood. "I see."

"You know? I always thought you might." John looked up at her without lifting his head, reminded her of a wary animal. "That's what makes _you_ scary."

Then his face twisted up in consideration. "Well, that and the ass-kicking."

She gave him a faint smile, though what she truly felt was a thread of sadness. "If it will put your mind at ease, I assure you that you have nothing to fear from me." She brushed her fingers over the back of his other hand, and he swallowed, looking away.

"That's good." He finally lifted his head again, and under his own weak smile, she saw the underlying sorrow clearly, as if etched on his face by the firelight. "I guess that just leaves you with the ass-kicking."

"So it would appear," she said, and she raised her eyebrows at him as she often did in the gymnasium, trying to get a rise out of him.

He smirked, as _he_ often did, acknowledging her attempt at diversion. Stretching out his unoccupied leg with a stifled groan, he said, "We all have to take what we can get, I guess."

"True enough," Teyla said, watching him take pains to avoid jostling Rodney, thinking also of their hosts. Her people had always gotten along well with the Konvarrans. Upon their first meeting with the people of Atlantis, Rodney had summed up the Konvarran philosophy in one of Earth's ancient sayings.

 _Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die._

John nudged her knee with his knuckles, and she realized she'd drifted off again, though she was growing more sober, her head clearing as time passed. "You gonna be okay if I stretch out for a bit?"

"I am well enough," she said, smiling genuinely at his concern.

He nodded back at her and eased himself down, curling one arm behind his head. Eyes closed, he rested his other hand on Rodney's head for a moment, then set his hand down on his own chest.

Teyla watched John's chest rise and fall with his breathing, and she was certain he'd fallen asleep, but his quiet voice proved her wrong. "I think he's drooling on my leg."

She surprised herself with a girlish giggle, and his mouth quirked in response. She responded in the same gentle tone, "You could move him, if need be."

"I could," he said. But John only drummed his fingers once on his sternum, and then went still again.

Teyla watched over them all, letting their presence warm away the lingering ache in her chest. Her eyes grew tired and the firelight grew dazzling, and she finally traded that day's departing for the nascent potential of the next.  



End file.
